Large Icon
Russia, 18th century. -Mother of God of the "Burning Bush" (Neopalimaya Kupina)- Egg tempera on gold ground, on chalk ground, wood. 51 × 67 cm. Icon with the multi-layered depiction of the Mother of God "Neopalimaya Kupina" (Burning Bush), a widespread protective and theophanic motif in Russian iconography. In the center, the Mother of God appears with the Christ Child in a round mandorla, surrounded by an eight-pointed star formed by two intertwined squares in red and blue tones - a symbol of the union of the divine and earthly, as well as a reference to the Old Testament vision of the burning, yet unconsumed bush. In the surrounding segments, archangels and Old Testament prefigurations of Mary are depicted; in the corner fields, scenic representations appear, including Moses before the burning bush. The richly ornamented border with vegetal motifs emphasizes the representative character of the icon. The panel is slightly curved; verso two sponki for stabilization. Traces typical of age and use, as well as craquelure in the gold ground.